Category: Los Angeles

Gaetz misconduct probes under fresh scrutiny Gaetz misconduct probes under renewed scrutiny after attorney general nod 10:06 The House Ethics Committee, which has been conducting an investigation into sexual misconduct and obstruction allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, scheduled a vote for Friday on whether to release its report, according to three sources with knowledge of the committee’s work.  Hours after President-elect Donald Trump said he planned to nominate  Gaetz to be attorney general, Gaetz resigned his congressional seat, effective immediately.  “I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress, to pursue the position of Attorney General in the Trump Administration,” Gaetz said in his resignation letter obtained by CBS News.  House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that there was about an eight-week period during which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could fill his seat by setting the date for a special election. The news of the scheduled vote was first reported by Punchbowl.  Now that Gaetz has resigned, it is unclear whether the panel will vote on releasing the report, since Gaetz is no longer

They call him the best receiver in the NFL. They say he’s always open. Whatever praise has been heaped upon Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton has already heard — and seen — it firsthand. The childhood friends, high school teammates and national champions at Louisiana State will line up against each other Sunday at SoFi Stadium as the Chargers host the Cincinnati Bengals in a critical prime-time game. Fulton plans to play after a hamstring injury kept him out for two games. The return comes just in time as the Chargers (6-3) test their top-ranked defense in a five-game stretch against explosive offenses. The next five games will affirm or expose the Chargers defense that allows a league-best 13.1 points per game, but hasn’t faced a team that ranks in the top 10 in points scored entering Week 11. With Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow, the Bengals (4-6) are fourth in the NFL with 245.8 yards passing per game and sixth in scoring with 27 points per game. Chase lit up the Baltimore Ravens last week for 264 yards and three touchdowns on

The footage is shocking. A brown bear — and there hasn’t been one of those in Southern California for more than a century — breaks into a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, seemingly using the door handle. Then it lumbers around inside the car, raking the leather seats with its mighty claws. Except it wasn’t a terrifying beast — it was a person in a bear costume using a kitchen tool designed to shred meat, authorities said. And the video was no lucky capture, but a staged performance submitted as part of a four-person insurance fraud scheme, according to the California Department of Insurance. On Wednesday, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village were arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy, according to the California Department of Insurance. The suspects are also accused of staging fake-bear videos with two Mercedes-Benz vehicles — a 2015 G63 AMG and a 2022 E350 — and submitting these videos as part of fraudulent insurance claims, the department says. A bear costume with meat claws

A 36-year-old Los Angeles County man has been arrested after reportedly throwing a rock at a beloved Great Egret in San Bernardino, leaving the bird, which ultimately died, badly wounded.  The unsettling act of alleged animal cruelty unfolded on Oct. 23 at Lake Gregory in Crestline, according to witness Kaylyn Donica who captured the incident on cellphone video.   Donica told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that she and a friend were fishing when the spotted two men throwing rocks at ducks in the lake, prompting her to yell at them to stop. She said they initially stopped, but about 20 minutes later, the situation took a turn.   “The one guy stood up and says, ‘Look, a crane,’” she explained. “I just got this gut feeling, like, I already yelled at these guys once. I’m not going to yell at them again.”   That’s when she said she pulled out her cellphone and began recording.   Cellphone footage of a man allegedly throwing a rock at a Great Egret in Crestline on Oct. 23, 2024. (Kaylyn Donica) A Greta Egret, dubbed Arthur by locals, seen at

Three insurance claims involving a bear damaging luxury cars in California are now believed to be fraud after it was determined that the culprit was actually a man in a costume. Four Los Angeles residents were arrested as part of the scheme, which happened on at least three occasions. The suspects — Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village — have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy. The California Department of Insurance began investigating the alleged bear attacks after an insurance company received a claim in January and suspected fraud. A suspected man in a bear costume is seen entering a vehicle and causing damage in January 2024 in a video released by the California Department of Insurance. Video from the California Department of Insurance shows the alleged damage caused by a man in a bear costume in a suspected insurance fraud case in January 2024. Video from the California Department of Insurance shows the alleged damage caused by a man in a bear costume in a suspected insurance fraud case in

What does another Trump term mean for American energy – CBS News Watch CBS News President-elect Donald Trump vowed to cut U.S. energy prices by 50% within one year of taking office. He is also expected to loosen regulations on oil and natural gas companies. Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks fuel prices, joins CBS News to discuss. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

The California Public Utilities Commission Wednesday released a proposal that calls for biennial assessments of appropriate gas levels at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Natural Storage Facility in Porter Ranch, and sets a usage-demand level that could trigger the site’s closure. Many residents in the area have been clamoring for the closure of the Southern California Gas Co. facility, the site of the largest gas leak in U.S. history. The proposal released by the CPUC Wednesday acknowledges the “downward trajectory” of demand for natural gas in the state, and for the first time it sets a demand level which, when reached, would trigger a proceeding to consider the possible permanent closure of the facility. But the target level of 4,121 million metric cubic feet per day (MMcdf) may not be reached until 2030. According to the CPUC, the 2024 California Gas Report forecasts peak demand this year at 4,618 MMcfd, and it is projected to fall to 4,197 MMcfd in 2030. “When the peak demand forecast for two years out decreases to 4,121 MMcfd and the biennial assessment shows that Aliso Canyon could be closed

After more than a year, the draft language for Los Angeles’ “Sanctuary City” ordinance has been released, which would prohibit any city resources or personnel from being used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws, it was announced Wednesday. Mayor Karen Bass and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto worked on the release of the draft ordinance following meetings with immigrant-rights groups over the weekend. It was formally made public late Tuesday night by the City Clerk. If approved, it would set up a likely battle with the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump made border security a mainstay of his campaign and promised to deport people who are in the country illegally. With the City Council’s Public Safety and Civil Rights committees potentially waiving the matter out of their jurisdiction, the item could come before the full council as soon as next week when members return from recess. The City Attorney’s Office drafted the ordinance in response to a motion introduced by council members Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martinez. The council in June 2023 voted to have to the city attorney draft the

The footage is shocking. A brown bear — and there hasn’t been one of those in Southern California for more than a century — breaks into a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, seemingly using the door handle. Then it lumbers around inside the car, raking the leather seats with its mighty claws. Except it wasn’t a terrifying beast — it was a person in a bear costume using a kitchen tool designed to shred meat, authorities said. And the video was no lucky capture, but a staged performance submitted as part of a four-person insurance fraud scheme, according to the California Department of Insurance. On Wednesday, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village were arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy, according to the California Department of Insurance. The suspects are also accused of staging fake-bear videos with two Mercedes-Benz vehicles — a 2015 G63 AMG and a 2022 E350 — and submitting these videos as part of fraudulent insurance claims, the department says. A bear costume with meat claws

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general sent a clear signal through Washington on Wednesday that Trump intends for his Justice Department to take a sharp-elbowed, hyperpartisan approach to law and order — one that is both unquestioningly loyal to Trump and openly antagonistic toward his political opponents, legal and political experts said. That approach, after all, has long been the norm for Gaetz, a hard-right member of the House since 2017 who is deeply unpopular among his Democratic and Republican colleagues, but has won praise from Trump by being unflinchingly defensive of the former and future president and openly derisive of the various state and federal criminal cases against him. “If anything shows Trump will make no effort at unity or conciliation, it is this pick,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law. Matt Gaetz with Donald Trump outside the New York courtroom where Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in May. (Mike Segar / Pool photo via Associated Press) House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that Gaetz had submitted his resignation from Congress “effectively immediately,” in

A suspicious bag seemingly abandoned on a bench prompted the shutdown of the Torrance courthouse early Wednesday and drew the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad to the scene. Investigators have not officially confirmed whether the liquid-filled bag was determined to be a bomb or other explosive, but one law enforcement source familiar with the situation told The Times it “for sure was intended to hurt someone.” The source — who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak on the record — also said video cameras captured footage of a man in a hoodie planting the bag along with a note. The note did not describe a clear motive, the source said, but indicated a desire to cause harm and included claims that the man had “killed before.” Authorities said the incident started around 7:30 a.m., when the Sheriff’s Department responded to a call for service at the courthouse on Maple Avenue, a few hundred feet from both the Torrance Police Department and Torrance City Hall. The courthouse was evacuated, and L.A. Superior Court officials said in a news

Pete Hegseth served as a National Guardsman in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze stars. But after President Biden was elected, Hegseth left the military, complaining he was ordered to stand down from his duty guarding Biden’s inauguration because top brass dubbed him a “white nationalist” and an “extremist.” “The military I loved, I fought for, I revered… spit me out,” Fox News co-host Hegseth wrote in a recent book. “I separated from an Army that didn’t want me anymore. The feeling was mutual — I didn’t want this Army anymore either.” The man that didn’t want “this Army” may soon control it. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Hegseth as secretary of Defense, a move that would put a combat veteran who has complained about “woke” forces — and called for the firing of top generals — in charge of the Pentagon. “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said Tuesday as he announced the nomination on Truth Social. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — our military will be great again, and America will

President-elect Donald Trump has given two wealthy entrepreneurs a mission that has eluded many other occupants of the White House: Make the U.S. government smaller and more efficient. No one knows much about how Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy plan to accomplish that task, only that they and the president they will serve want big reforms not beholden to precedent. In naming the space and electric car tycoon and the healthcare entrepreneur to head a new Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said he expected them to drive “radical change,” something like the Manhattan Project, the government initiative that created the atomic bomb during World War II. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, said in a statement. Ramaswamy said during his run for the Republican presidential nomination that he planned to advance a “radical dream” that would cut three-quarters of a U.S government workforce that numbers about 2.2 million. In his announcement Tuesday, Trump said he expected the “major cuts and new efficiencies in bloated

A 32-year-old Orange County man is facing possible hate crime charges after he reportedly grabbed a woman by the buttocks with both hands inside of a store and made a comment about her ethnicity.   The Nov. 8 incident, according to a news release from the Westminster Police Department, occurred at around 7:45 a.m. at a retail outlet in the 13500 block of Beach Boulevard.   Police said the victim, a 43-year-old Garden Grove woman, entered the store and walked into the laundry aisle. She told investigators that when she bent down, the suspect, now identified as Westminster resident Aaron Navies, assaulted her.   “The victim alleged when she reached down to pick up an item, the arrestee without provocation and against her will grabbed her buttocks with both hands,” the release stated. “The victim immediately stood up, threw an item at Navies and backed away. Navies told the victim, ‘You don’t have rights because you’re Mexican and I can do what I want to.’”   Authorities added that when the woman, disgusted, began speaking Spanish, Navies “stuck his tongue out and moved it up

The missing person saga surrounding a “Gossip Girl” actress took yet another stunning turn on Wednesday night, when the subject of a massive search took to social media to proclaim that she is “finally free” from the family that has been frantically looking for her. Chanel Banks, best known for her roles in the teen drama as well as “Blue Bloods”, was reported missing on Nov. 8, but was found in Texas on Nov. 11, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Her family, however, including outspoken cousin Danielle-Tori Singh, says that was the wrong person. “Please don’t stop looking for my cousin,” she pleaded, saying that police ended the search based on an old, expired ID they found on a person she says doesn’t even resemble Banks. The family has also shared a GoFundMe, organized by Singh, in an attempt to fund search efforts. He owed an O.C. couple $80K, so he allegedly executed them and burned their bodies in the desert However, a series of stories posted to Banks’ personal Instagram account on Wednesday claimed that the 36-year-old Playa Vista resident is safe

California Gov. Gavin Newsom preparing to “Trump-proof” his state – CBS News Watch CBS News Governors in blue states are preparing to push back against the incoming Trump administration’s agenda. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special session of the legislature to “Trump-proof” the state, and has lobbied President Biden for funding and federal waivers before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. CBS News California investigative correspondent Julie Watts joins “America Decides” with more on the moves. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

What does Trump’s tapping of Rubio and Hegseth say about his foreign policy plans? – CBS News Watch CBS News President-elect Donald Trump has already made picks for key foreign policy roles in his new administration: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for secretary of state, and Fox News host and combat veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Ravi Agrawal, editor-in-chief of “Foreign Policy” magazine, joins “America Decides” to look at what Trump’s potential team indicates about his agenda abroad. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Gaetz misconduct probes under renewed scrutiny after attorney general nod – CBS News Watch CBS News President-elect Donald Trump has selected longtime ally, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, to serve as his next attorney general. CBS News investigative producer Michael Kaplan joins “America Decides” to examine the misconduct allegations against Gaetz, which he has denied. Then, Meridith McGraw, national political correspondent for Politico, and Andrew Desiderio, senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, join to discuss. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

How tight will the Republicans’ new House majority be? – CBS News Watch CBS News When President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term, Republicans will have total control of Capitol Hill. CBS News projected Wednesday that the GOP will keep control of the House of Representatives, winning at least 218 seats. CBS News executive director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto has the details. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Music legend Quincy Jones died earlier this month reportedly from pancreatic cancer. The 28-time Grammy Award winner’s cause of death was listed as the aggressive form of cancer, according to a death certificate issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and obtained by TMZ. No other factors contributed to his death, the outlet said The 91-year-old, whose generation-spanning work shaped Michael Jackson’s solo career and included collaborations with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Diana Ross and the Weeknd, died Nov. 3 at his Bel-Air home. He was surrounded by his children, siblings and close family, his publicist, Arnold Robinson, said at the time. No cause of death was disclosed then. Robinson did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ request for confirmation. The Oscar-nominated composer and renowned music producer was laid to rest Sunday during a private funeral in Los Angeles, his family said. A larger, public memorial is being planned, but no date has been announced. In a tribute to her father, “Parks and Recreation” alum Rashida Jones, one of his seven children, said that Jones’ legacy is making “everyone he ever

A man who plotted to help kill three people after they disapproved of his relationship with a minor is facing the possibility of life in prison without parole, according to prosecutors. Thirty-three year-old Frank Sato Felix was convicted on Tuesday on three felony counts of first-degree murder and three felony enhancements of multiple murders, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The Sun Valley resident’s conviction is connected to the incident that led to his codefendant, Joshua Charles Acosta, receiving a life sentence in prison after being convicted on three counts of murder. Prosecutors say that Felix, then-25, met a 17-year-old girl after she was introduced to the “furry” subculture. That subculture involved people dressing up in costumes resembling animals with human-like characteristics. Felix illegally entered what prosecutors described as a “romantic relationship” with the minor, but her mother, 39-year-old Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, and step-father, 35-year-old Christopher Yost, didn’t approve of the relationship. He owed an O.C. couple $80K, so he allegedly executed them and burned their bodies in the desert That’s when Felix and Acosta, an Army mechanic stationed at Ft. Irwin in Barstow, decided to